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“It’s hot!”“Can someone get me some water?”“Or tea?”And the day had been looking to be so peaceful, too…AE-3803 didn’t know how that led her here, entangled between the hot, crowded bodies of the blood cells — courtesy of the adorable and hard-working platelets. She couldn’t be frustrated at them for doing their job. They were practically the heroes of the day. At least she didn’t have to worry about any imminent danger anymore…for now, at least.The red blood cell sighed to herself as she recalled today’s events. She had just been walking with her senpai to deliver a new batch of nutrients, same as everyday. And of course, their route simply had to be in close proximity of an abrasion, which led to her near death, followed by the anxiety-inducing bacterial invasion that came after.It was a classic case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, something AE-3803 sensed she had a specific knack for…that, and getting lost. She found herself always getting into trouble, one way or another. Acknowledging those facts didn’t really brighten her mood, especially with the growing discomfort of someone’s foot jabbing against her thigh and someone else’s elbow stuck against her shoulder.“Are you doing okay?”AE-3803 looked up, snapping out of her thoughts long enough to remember who else was currently stuck beside her.U-1146, the neutrophil she’d had the good fortune of seeing again. They’d first met when the Pneumococcus had attacked. He had rescued her from certain death…several times in the same day. He had even been kind enough to accompany her on her work route. She believed that they had left on a good note, with a hint of a promise to see one another again. She’d held no doubts that they would, although she lacked the ability to explain this feeling of certainty. How did one describe sensing an eventual, inevitable bond with somebody? She knew she had experienced this feeling before…probably a long time ago.She supposed it didn’t matter now that they had met again. At the moment, she could see a hint of friendly concern in his expression, partially obstructed by the snowy white hair peeking out from underneath his uniform cap. He had probably sensed her discomfort. It likely wasn’t difficult to notice her tense posture, what with their close proximity and all.AE-3803’s mood perked up slightly, remembering that he, much like herself and every other cell here, was trapped in the fibrin with them. Something told her that just by being there, U-1146 would make this experience a little more bearable.“It feels a little weird, but I’ll get used to this in no time,” she replied with a sad attempt at a shrug.U-1146 nodded in understanding, but added anyway, “If you ever feel uncomfortable, try to remember — this is only for three more days. Then we may leave.”He offered her an easy smile, which she responded with one of her own. He was very kind to show concern about how she felt about everything. She had only recently begun working, but even she could notice that he seemed to care a great deal about others. He was one of the more considerate cells she had encountered thus far. And no matter how many times he humbly brushed off her thanks, she knew that sort of kindness wasn’t part of his job — that was all just who he was…Three days, then. Three days to spend in an inescapable net of fibrin, squished against strangers, older colleagues, and…him. It was then that she realized she was practically pressed up against the white blood cell. She could feel his every movement, every breath — and he could probably feel every one of hers. Did the platelets really have to wrap them up so close together?He was so close to her. AE-3803’s face suddenly grew increasingly warm, and it wasn’t due to all the congested bodies surrounding her.“Red Blood Cell?”“Y-Yeah?” she said, internally grimacing at how her voice cracked. She coughed into her hand, which in hindsight, probably hadn’t been her best decision — as it was currently pinned against the neutrophil’s chest, placing her face unceremoniously close to it. “What’s up?”“I’m sorry.”AE-3803’s embarrassment dissipated in a flash, replaced by sudden confusion. Was he apologizing to her?“If you hadn’t come looking for me, maybe you wouldn’t be in this situation,” U-1146 continued. “Maybe you wouldn’t need to experience any discomfort.”AE-3803 frowned at his words. Could he have sensed her tense up before, when she was just being silly and flustered over nothing? Was he now feeling guilt because of her? Something in her snapped at the thought of that.“No, no, don’t apologize!” she found herself blurting out before she could stop herself. “You didn’t do anything wrong, so there’s nothing to be sorry about!”The neutrophil simply stared, bemused at her sudden outburst, but ever patient as he waited for her to go on. A new bout of nervousness creeped into the back of her mind, but she forced herself to continue without omitting any sincere thought or feeling she would have normally withheld.“I went searching for you because I wanted to personally thank you,” she said. “Didn’t I mention that before? You, the other white blood cells, and the platelets…You all risked your lives today to protect this body.” To protect red blood cells like me…who couldn’t do anything except run away. “You’re all so brave to risk your lives fighting bacteria every day. You at least deserve to be thanked properly for all you’ve done, right?”U-1146 opened his mouth, most likely to reject her thanks again, but she wasn’t quite finished yet.“And maybe,” she said, quickly before he could interrupt, “there was a part of me that wanted to confirm for myself that you were okay. Maybe I just wanted to see you.”Whatever U-1146 had planned to say seemed to have disappeared into thin air as soon as AE-3803 paused to listen to his reply. When the red blood cell glanced up at him again, a curious pink colour had dusted his normally pale face.“Oh,” he managed lamely.AE-3803 had the opportunity to leave it at that and allow the silence to mend over whatever misunderstandings she had accidentally caused. However, now, she knew that there was far more she wanted to get off her chest.“I’m not only grateful that you’re around to fight off bacteria and keep everyone safe, you know,” she confessed, lowering her gaze so the white blood cell wouldn’t see the blush tinting her cheeks. “You saved me when we first met…and you saved me again today. I haven’t known you long, but it seems like you’re always there for me I find myself in trouble.”He had appeared earlier, a little before the bacteria started to flood in through the abrasion. He’d saved her, caught her before she could be pulled out of this world. And once the bacteria began their attack, he’d protected her and her other red blood cell colleagues. It seemed that he had a talent for being there right when she needed him.“I don’t think I had the chance earlier to thank you for that…”Despite how flushed her cheeks had become, she willed herself to look up at U-1146, a genuinely grateful smile spread across her face.“Thank you…for rescuing me again.”U-1146 cleared his throat, face significantly reddened, appearing just as flustered as the red blood cell stuck at his front. “Yeah, it’s no problem at all.”Something about the sight warmed her heart, comforted her, made her happy. She couldn’t suppress a wide grin from breaking out across her face. “Besides, being stuck together like this is kind of nice.”It took a good few seconds — and the deepening red shade on U-1146’s face that was beginning to make him indistinguishable from another red blood cells — for AE-3803 to realize the implications of what she had just said.“Ack! I just meant that it gives us a chance to talk!” she quickly corrected herself. “Normally, things are so busy. How often do we get to spend time together?”“Ah,” U-1146 said. “Right.”By then the red colour on his skin had faded, and a small, unreadable smile had formed in its place. It still managed to make her beam in response. “What would you like to talk about?”AE-3803 bit on the inside of her cheek as she thought over everything she might have talked about with her senpais or any kind cell offering her directions around the body. The weather is so nice, I hope it stays like this…How was work today?…Got any plans for later?…Those topics didn’t seem as appealing to her now that she had longer time alone with him. They could make small talk later. She might as well make the most of these few days together by asking the questions she wanted to know the answers to most.“Are we friends, White Blood Cell?”U-1146’s eyes widened by a tiny fraction, though the movement was still noticeable enough to make an impact. She hadn’t been working in this body for long, but there were some things, unspoken rules and customs, she had managed to observe.Like the connate distance between the immune cells and the other cells of the body. Her red blood cell colleagues from before hadn’t exactly been subtle with their rude comments about the white blood cells, who were really only just trying to do their jobs, so that was definitely uncalled for…Anyway, she’d consider it a safe bet to say that immune cells and other cells did not normally form any sort of relationship. Which was…sad, to be honest.As AE-3803 thought about the neutrophil before her, a dozen images of him flashed through her mind, each a significant portrait that she had committed to memory, for whatever reason. His pristine white uniform, bloodied by the pneumococcus he had saved her from…his sheepish head scratch as he attempted to correct his words in order to be more gentle toward her…his hand around hers, grip strong yet surprisingly comforting…his soft-spoken reassurances when he sensed her unease…He was someone she wanted to call a friend, regardless of how it might have seemed to their coworkers.If there was any chance of U-1146 feeling the same way, she would like to know.“I don’t know,” replied the white blood cell, after a considerably lengthy moment of pondering. “Do you want us to be friends?”That was one of the simplest questions for AE-3803 to answer.“You already seem to appear whenever I need you.” If they weren’t already friends, he was one hell of an acquaintance. “And…I like spending time with you, whenever we get the chance. I’d like to think we are friends.”U-1146 smiled again, a small gentle curve on his lips that managed to make AE-3803 feel strangely immeasurably happier.“That’s good,” he murmured. “It’s what I wanted, too.”She beamed up him, unable to suppress the giddy joy that bubbled within her — at such a simple statement, too.“I meant what I said earlier,” U-1146 brought up all of a sudden.AE-3803 frowned at him, somewhat confused as to what he was referring to. He seemed to understand her wordless request for further explanation.“You’re not useless,” he said. “Red blood cells like you, who work to keep the body running even as it endures these invasions, are important. You put just as much hard work into your jobs as us white blood cells. You are helping all the time.”There was no hint of sarcasm or insincerity in his voice as he spoke. Quite the opposite, in fact. He spoke with more sincerity than she had ever heard from another cell before. And something in the eye that peeked out from beneath his snowy white bangs shone with unwavering faith. Faith in her. She supposed she wasn’t used to seeing something like that from others.“And…if it’s worth anything,” U-1146 added with the slightest hesitation, as if he was bracing himself for her reaction, “you give me more of a reason to keep fighting for this world.”AE-3803’s face flushed at his words, though she knew she had no reason to. His smile had softened, with a pure tenderness and honesty that overwhelmed her with new feelings she was still getting used to…and it didn’t help to realize now that their faces had gotten so close.AE-3803 lowered her head, attempting to hide her blush, only to have it rest on him. Her first instinct was to jerk away in embarrassment, but that was swiftly overridden by another feeling — one of warmth and security, which she would begin to associate with this particular white blood cell.When he moved to wrap an arm around her, she relaxed in his embrace, allowing this feeling to wash over her as she leaned further into him. This felt nice, she noted. Natural. Right.In this moment, they had nowhere else to be but with each other.AE-3803 sighed into his uniform, allowing her eyes to fall shut as she whispered to him, so quietly that she wondered if he heard her.“I’m glad you’re here with me.”Three days didn’t seem long enough.